Backyard Dairy Cows 101: A Beginner's Guide to Family Milk & Grazing: Simple Systems for Feeding, Milking, Pasture Care, Calving & Low-Input Homestead (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798278573456)

Backyard Dairy Cows 101 is the essential beginner's manual for keeping a gentle, productive dairy cow on a homestead or small farm. Written for first-time owners, it breaks down feeding, milking, housing and pasture management into simple, low-cost systems that fit real life.

Inside you'll learn how to:

• Choose beginner-friendly breeds suited to small farms and family milking

• Set up safe barns, loafing areas, fencing and weather protection

• Build grazing rotations that improve pasture and reduce feed bills

• Understand nutrition, minerals, hay quality and lactation needs

• Create calm, efficient milking routines for hand or machine milking

• Prevent mastitis and manage udder health with practical hygiene steps

• Prepare for calving, identify labour stages and support newborn calves

• Use low-stress handling to keep cows calm and cooperative

• Manage year-round care, seasonal challenges and simple record-keeping

Whether you want fresh milk for your family or a dependable homestead cow for long-term resilience, this guide gives you step-by-step confidence.